Of all the New York wine educators, there may not be two less likely tutors than Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist Sadat X and his producer, Will Tell. The oenophiles have been working their particular brand of outrageous wine talk and hip-hop music on the web show "True Wine Connoisseurs" for more than four years. Last month, Sadat X and Will Tell released "Planet of the Grapes," an album they created while shooting the wine shows. I caught up with the team over lunch at Morrell Wine Bar and Cafe in Midtown recently.

The two men immediately confessed to being a bit under the weather—they were nursing fierce Hennessey-induced hangovers after a long night of celebrating Louisville "s NCAA basketball triumph. I asked whether they "d they like a glass of restorative wine. They did.

Red, said Sadat X definitively. Preferably a red wine that was a little bit sweet. Todd Simon, the wine bar "s general manager, had a suggestion: "The Red Brute" Uncle Dick Sparkling Shiraz from Bleasdale Vineyards. The label depicts a fellow with wild-looking hair who looks like he "d had a rough night as well.

From an artistic standpoint, the wine was a good choice—the "True Wine Connoisseurs" seem to like eye-catching labels, though its price was perhaps more important. The "TWC" fiscal policy mandates that no wine should cost more than $20 retail—though they have exceeded that number occasionally. ("The Red Brute" was priced at $19.95 at the Morrell Wine Store next door.)

When "True Wine Connoisseurs" had its debut in 2009, it garnered a great deal of attention in the hip-hop community, where Sadat X and his group, Brand Nubian, are big names. (Their debut album, 1990 "s "One for All," is considered by many one of the all-time great hip-hop albums.) The show also provoked a lot of discussion and a measure of outrage in the wine world. What was a hip-hop artist who openly admitted knowing very little about wine doing pontificating on the subject and using, well, vulgar words? (They rate wines according to their so-called "F— Up Factor.")

Some viewers made ugly, racist remarks. Will Tell, who produces the show as well as Sadat X "s music, recalled how members of a certain wine discussion board made fun of the way Sadat X talked.

"They would write their pronunciation in Ebonics," he said. "When he would say "smooth finish " they would write it as "smoof " or "smoov. ""

"True Wine Connoisseurs" began quite by accident. One day Will Tell brought a bottle of an inexpensive Chilean red wine to the recording studio. (Most of the wine shows take place in the basement studio of his Brooklyn house). He "d decided that their usual drink of choice, Hennessey, was "a bit too rough" that day. Sadat X began goofing around with the bottle, and Mr. Tell decided to record his antics on tape. The rest is Internet history.

"I put it on my YouTube video site and it went viral," said Will Tell.

The video scored tens of thousands of hits and earned an immediate fan base, so Will Tell bought more wine and they began taping more shows. But as Sadat X was quick to point out, "The music always came first." Neither one ever went into the studio just to produce a wine show—and they were very particular about what ended up on the screen.

They weren "t making any money from the show—and until they came up with their now-trademark phrase, "Send a Case to this Place," they bought all of their own wine as well. (Winemakers and distributors now regularly send bottles in the hope they "ll be tasted on "TWC," though "tasted" is perhaps too precious a term; most times, Sadat X drinks straight out of the bottle.)

Why did two successful music artists decide to create a wine show in the first place? "We wanted to make a wine show that wasn "t stuffy. Wine didn "t seem like much fun," Will Tell said. "We thought we could blend the world of wine and hip-hop."

But they were almost destroyed by its success, as "True Wine Connoisseurs" became more and more popular and grew further and further from their base. "Everyone wanted to be in the videos with Sadat," said Will Tell. People tried to tell them what to do ("stop cursing") and even took them on field trips to the suburbs. (The show at the Manor and Highlawn Pavilion in West Orange, N.J., is a particularly memorable example; Sadat X is wearing a sports jacket and drinking out of a glass.)

They stopped making videos for a while, regrouped and returned to the basement in Brooklyn, where they began taping again. (There is no regular schedule; it "s whenever the time and mood is right, though they do try to film at least one episode a month.) They "re thinking about branching out again—this time by making their own wine. They already have a proposed label design, which Will Tell showed me. (It "s the same cartoon graphic that opens their show.)

The two like the idea of making a wine from New York state grapes—"Maybe from Wolffer Estate," said Will Tell. He "s a fan of that Hamptons winery "s rosé. A hip-hop Hamptons rosé? With the "True Wine Connoisseurs," anything could happen…and probably will.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClFScjXD-XcbnLZvUr09uLA?feature=

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